Titan is a magnificent biography-balanced, revelatory, elegantly written. But he also uncovers the profound religiosity that drove him “to give all I could” his devotion to his father and the wry sense of humor that made him the country’s most colorful codger. He was the terror of his competitors, the bogeyman of reformers, the delight of caricaturists-and an utter enigma.ĭrawing on unprecedented access to Rockefeller’s private papers, Chernow reconstructs his subjects’ troubled origins (his father was a swindler and a bigamist) and his single-minded pursuit of wealth. Rockefeller saw huge waste throughout the oil industry. Most of all, Rockefeller was an extremely sophisticated business man laser focused on profit as well as a fierce competitor.

In the course of his nearly 98 years, Rockefeller was known as both a rapacious robber baron, whose Standard Oil Company rode roughshod over an industry, and a philanthropist who donated money lavishly to universities and medical centers. You truly need to read the book to capture the entirety of Rockefeller’s business savvy during this period.

Rockefeller, Sr.-the Jekyll-and-Hyde of American capitalism. by Ron Chernow 3.6 (37) Paperback (2nd ed.) 23.00 Paperback 23.00 eBook 12.99 Audiobook 25. National Book Critics Circle Award Finalistįrom the acclaimed, award-winning author of Alexander Hamilton : here is the essential, endlessly engrossing biography of John D.

The titan book rockefeller